Rick Perry is an American politician who served as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. He was a candidate for the nomination of the Republican Party for President of the United States in 2012 and 2016, and served as the U.S. secretary of energy until December 1, 2019.
Constitutional issues Some of Perry's views are in opposition to Constitutional amendments already adopted. In his 2010 book Fed Up!, he takes issue with the Federal government's right to collect income tax, saying "if you want to know when Washington really got off the track, the 16th Amendment, giving them the opportunity to take your money with a personal income tax." He also criticizes the 17th Amendment, which allows for the direct election of U.S. Senators. According to Perry, the 16th and 17th Amendments caused states to "[hand] over significant chunks of their sovereignty and wealth to the federal government. Congress was free to tax and spend to its heart's content."
Perry has expressed support for amending the Constitution to set a nationwide policy on social issues, by prohibiting abortion and same-sex marriage. He also supports abolishing life tenure for judges, empowering Congress to overrule Supreme Court decisions by a two-thirds vote, requirement of a balanced budget, and placing a limit on federal expenditures.
Criticism of Federal Reserve On August 16, 2011, Perry sharply criticized the Federal Reserve, stating that it would be "almost treacherous – or treasonous in my opinion" to be "printing money to play politics". Many prominent Republicans criticized Perry for his statements. For instance, Tony Fratto, a Republican who had worked in the Treasury and White House under the Bush administration, described Perry's remarks as "inappropriate and unpresidential". Perry also suggested that if Chairman Ben Bernanke visited Texas, "we would treat him pretty ugly", a remark criticized by the White House as threatening.
Another of the top-three-polling Republican presidential candidates, Ron Paul, who routinely criticizes Bernanke and has made "End the Fed" a major platform issue, also criticized Perry's comment, saying that "he makes me look like a moderate" and that, unlike Perry, "I have never once said Bernanke has committed treason."
Immigration
Perry is opposed to the DREAM Act.
Perry opposed the building of a Mexico – United States barrier. Perry says that the federal government should fulfill its responsibility to its citizens by securing the borders with "boots on the ground" and technology to improve safety while not harming trade with the state's biggest trading partner, Mexico. Perry said the Arizona immigration law, SB 1070, "would not be the right direction for Texas" and would distract law enforcement from fighting other crimes. He also opposes requirements that businesses use E-Verify to check the immigration status of prospective employees. He says that employment verification is needed but that the current E-verify system has flaws such as bad data which could be a hindrance to US citizens getting jobs as well as allowing as many as 50% of illegal immigrants through. Perry also wants to grant work visas to undocumented immigrants."Rick Perry Supports Work Visas For Undocumented Immigrants In US." Fox News, 4 November 2011.
In response to the 2014 crisis of undocumented, unaccompanied children crossing the border, which generated widespread attention, Perry declared the issue of illegal immigration of minors a "side-issue" compared with the number of illegal immigrants arriving who have committed crimes, which he estimated was about 80%.
In 2016, The Texas Tribune wrote that "Perry has long been a critic of building a wall or fence along the border."
Official language In 2011, Perry said that he supports the English language to be official language of the United States. Death penalty
Perry supports the death penalty. In June 2001, he vetoed a ban on the execution of intellectually disabled inmates. In 2011, during a televised debate for presidential candidates, he said he had "never struggled" with the question of the possible innocence of any of the 234 inmates executed to date while he was governor.
LGBT issues Rick Perry opposes the legal recognition and legalization of same-sex marriage and civil unions, and supported the 2005 ballot proposition which amended the Texas constitution by defining marriage as "only a union between a man and a woman" and prohibiting the state from creating or recognizing "any legal status identical or similar to marriage". In 2011, after New York legalized same-sex marriage, Perry stated that it was their right to do so under the principle of states' rights delineated in the 10th Amendment. A spokesman later reiterated Perry's support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, saying that position was not inconsistent since an amendment would require approval by three-fourths of the states.
In his first book, On My Honor, published in 2008, Perry drew a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism, writing that he is "no expert on the 'nature versus nurture' debate," and that gays should simply choose abstinence. In 2002, Perry described the Texas same-sex anti-sodomy law as "appropriate". The United States Supreme Court's landmark civil rights decision in Lawrence v. Texas struck down the statute Perry referred to the following year for violating the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
During the 2012 presidential campaign, he criticized the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy for the U.S. military. In a 2011 campaign ad, he stated: "there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military" and later defended the ad, saying he was "very comfortable" with it. Perry said using foreign aid as a policy tool against foreign countries that violate the human rights of homosexuals was "not in America's interests" and was part of a "war on traditional American values".
Environmental and energy issues Perry has been a denier of human contributions to climate change. In Perry's book, Fed Up!, he called climate science a "contrived phony mess." On August 17, 2011 at a breakfast with business leaders in New Hampshire Perry said that he does not believe the science behind global warming, saying that he thinks "there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling in to their projects". Perry has said that "Virtually every day another scientist leaves the global warming bandwagon ... But you won't read about that in the press because they have already invested in one side of the story." Perry's views have been criticized, with fact-checkers stating that surveys showed that more than 97% of climate scientists believed that global warming is anthropogenic and arguing that the ranks of dissenters don't appear to be swelling.Klein, Ezra (August 23, 2011). "Despite Rick Perry, consensus on climate change keeps strengthening". The Washington PostHolan, Angie Drobnic; Taylor, David G. (August 22, 2011). "Rick Perry says more and more scientists are questioning global warming". PolitiFact On June 19, 2014 at lunch organized by the Christian Science Monitor Perry criticized the Obama administration's policies on climate change, including proposed regulation of greenhouse gases, saying "Calling CO2 a pollutant is doing a disservice the country... I'm not a scientist... I don't believe that we have the settled science by any sense of the imagination...". He said he was offended by being called a "denier." He said he supports the Keystone XL pipeline. In 2014, a spokesman for Perry cited "unsettled science" regarding climate change in partial explanation of Perry's opposition to the regulation of greenhouse gases.
Texas-based TXU had been planning a $10 billion investment in 11 new coal-fired power plants over the next several years, but drastically reduced those plans in 2007 under the terms of a buyout by a consortium of private equity firms."TXU reversal on coal-plant emissions shocks power industry", MarketWatch The Governor's Clean Coal Technology Council"Relating to the Creation of the Governor's Clean Coal Technology Council". Office of the Governor. December 19, 2002. continues to explore ways to generate clean energy with coal. After the 2009 legislative session, Perry signed House Bill 469 which includes incentives"Gov. Perry: Incentives will Create New Clean Energy Sources" . Office of the Governor. August 19, 2009 for clean coal technology breakthroughs.
Perry opposes regulation of greenhouse gas emissions because he says it would have "devastating implications" for the Texas economy and energy industry. He has stated that he supports an "all of the above" energy strategy"Powering Texas into the Future" Office of the Governor. including oil, coal, nuclear, biofuels, hydroelectric, solar, and wind energy."Texas Still At Forefront of Energy Picture". Office of the Governor. March 18, 2011. Perry has collaborated with T. Boone Pickens, who has advocated reduced use of oil, primarily through replacing it with natural gas."Governor leery of regulating emissions" Under Governor Perry, Texas sued the Obama administration to overturn Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
In 2011, temperatures in Texas set an all-time record for the hottest summer in the contiguous United States, with 91% of the state "experiencing extreme or exceptional drought".Barnett, Jim (October 20, 2011). "Drought to continue in Southern plains, officials say". CNN. Perry said that comments by President Obama that linked the resulting wildfires to climate change were "outrageous".Nielsen-Gammon, John (September 6, 2011). "A Pyric Victory". Houston Chronicle.Madison, Lucy (September 26, 2011). "Perry: Obama climate comments 'outrageous. CBS News.
Perry says the fossil fuel reserves in the United States are sufficient to meet current demand levels for the next 300 years.Kaplan, Rebecca (October 12, 2011). "Perry gives Indiana audience a preview of his energy proposal". CBS News. He supports current policies that may add a quarter million jobs by fracking the Marcellus Shale.Farley, Robert (October 14, 2011). "Just the Fracking Facts". FactCheck. However the report he based his comments on seems to have vastly overstated the case for America's gas reserves.Nelder, Chris. "Is there really 100 years’ worth of natural gas beneath the United States?" Slate, 29 December 2011. As governor of Texas, Perry signed the first law in the nation to require drilling companies to disclose the chemicals used in the fracking process, in order to confront fears that the chemicals are leaking into water supplies."Texas Fracking Bill: State Becomes First To Require Public Disclosure Of Chemicals". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. June 20, 2011.
In 2008, Perry pushed for federal loan guarantees for the expansion of the South Texas Nuclear Generating Station, but in 2011 he said that he had changed his position and no longer favored federal engagement in energy projects.Saenz, Arlette (October 30, 2011). "Rick Perry: 'I Have Changed My Position. ABC News.
Social Security In Perry's book, Fed Up!, published in the fall of 2010, he said that Social Security was "a crumbling monument to the failure of the New Deal." He likened the program to "an illegal Ponzi scheme" and also suggested that it was unconstitutional, having been enacted "at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government." During the promotion of the book he said that the Federal government should leave health care to the states and focus on putting Social Security on "better and more solid footing"."Texas Gov. Perry: Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme." Fox News, November 21, 2010.